Better Late than Never
by SoulSeeker
Summary: [One Shot] Shinichi owed Ran a lot of explanation for his disappearance... but he owed an explanation to someone else too. Easy, right? If he could tell Ran, then surely telling 16 year old Ayumi Yoshida would be no problem...


**Better Late than Never**

_Well, I've had this idea for a long time now, but since I've been wrapped in my challenges, I haven't had a chance to write it up. Hopefully this will sound as good on a word document as it did in my head… n.n_

* * *

In the span of six years, a lot could change in a person—and it did. All except for one thing. One thing that remained constant, and would probably never change.

Ayumi never forgot him.

He was her first crush and one of her best childhood friends. She always admired him for being so intelligent, though could never figure out how he knew so much. He had so much to tell her, and she always enjoyed listening.

Then one day, it happened.

Conan had finally found the cure to his predicament; one that would give him his life back for good. As he took the antidote, all he could think about was the life he was forced to leave behind. His life of fame, his life of glory, and everyone he was forced to deceive.

But he didn't give a thought to what he was leaving behind then, at that moment. His life of adventure, his life using gadgets and all sorts of useful trinkets (he would have to remember to thank Dr. Agasa), and his friends he had made, even if they _were_ young—and admittedly, annoying at first.

He left with only a few words of explanation, ones on which he refused to elaborate. Ayumi was only ten, andshe was forced to accept it. It was the last lie he would ever tell; or at least that's what he wanted to believe. He was 'going back to Hawaii with his parents.'

Ayumi was reminded of him every day years later, as she sat next to Mitsuhiko and Genta in her Forensics class at Teitan High. She kept it to herself. After all, it was so long ago—six years, and she was sure they had forgotten all about him by then. They didn't dwell on the past like she did.

"All right class—we've only got a few minutes left, so I'll just do a quick review of what's going to be on your quiz next class."

The room fell silent on the word 'quiz,' and even though it was near the end of the day, everyone's attention was called to the teacher.

"Now—who can tell me what rigor mortis is?"

The class vigorously began to flip through pages and pages of notes, as Ayumi idly doodled on a sheet of paper. Yawn—such basic information.

"Ayumi-chan, you look ready to answer. Why don't you enlighten the class and tell us?"

She blinked, taking a few seconds to recall the question, and then took a deep breath before answering.

"Rigor mortis is when a body goes stiff after death." She didn't even look up from her paper, and some would doubt she was even paying attention to what she was saying. "It's caused by the build-up of lactic acid, and it usually begins about three hours after death, depending on the temperature."

The teacher nodded in approval. "Well put—and remind us, how long does a body take to get to full rigor?"

"Twelve hours."

She nodded again, and after calling upon a few more students, the bell rung, releasing the students for the weekend. She waited for her friends as she always did, Genta always being the last out of the classroom, and they began to walk out of the building.

"Man, Ayumi, how do you remember all that stuff?"

Mitsuhiko looked at her in awe, recalling the lack of effort she needed to respond to the teacher's questions. Genta nodded in agreement.

"It's mind-boggling!" he added. "And actually, it kind of reminds me of someone…"

Genta put a hand to his chin, and Mitsuhiko raised an eyebrow. "You know, now that I think about it, me too," he agreed. He scratched his head a little, and Ayumi just smiled.

"Conan Edogawa?"

Genta snapped his fingers and grinned. "He's the one!" he exclaimed. "He was always such a know-it-all. It was so cool back then, but now it'd probably just piss me off…"

Mitsuhiko laughed. "Yeah…what ever happened to him anyway?" he asked. "He moved back with his parents or something, right?"

Ayumi nodded. "In Hawaii."

"Lucky son-of-a-gun," Genta remarked.

They walked to the park near the high school, just like they always did on Fridays, to hang out until they figured out something better to do—and suddenly, Ayumi felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around; it took her a few seconds to recognize him, but she remembered.

"Shinichi-kun!" she exclaimed. She bowed in respect, looking quite pleased at the pleasant surprise. "What brings you here? Weren't you studying abroad?"

The tantei smiled with a nod. "Came back to visit," he told her. "But listen…there's something I've got to tell you."

Ayumi scratched her head, tilting her head a few degrees in confusion. "Me?" she repeated. "Now?"

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah, you," he said confidently. "How about we go for a walk or something?"

"Hey, Ayumi, are you comin' or not!"

Mitsuhiko and Genta stood at the park, waving to get her attention.

"I'll catch up with you in a bit!" Ayumi yelled back to them; and with that, she turned back to Shinichi. "Uhm…sure, I guess so. Yeah."

They walked in silence for a while, Shinichi being distracted by all the changes that Beika had gone through since he was gone. Ayumi was slightly scared, but she shook the feeling quickly. "So…what did you want to tell me?" she finally asked.

Shinichi didn't look at her, but she could at least tell his attention was back where it needed to be.

"Ayumi, do you remember Conan Edogawa?" he asked.

She did a double take, and then finally turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Of course I do," she replied. "He left six years ago, to live with his parents in Hawaii."

He had to laugh at the excuse he used, and then he just shook his head. "No, he didn't," he told her—about six years too late, true, but it was better late than never. He really should've done this at the beginning…

"What do you mean? Have you talked to him?"

Shinichi blinked and scratched his head. "Mm…something like that," he replied.

"It's kind of a yes-or-no question…" Ayumi said bluntly.

He laughed a little. There were definitely some noticeable changes about her since he had last seen her; of course, that was to be expected. "Touché…" he replied admittedly. "In that case, no. I didn't talk to him. Not exactly…"

Ayumi stopped, folding her arms. "Then _what_ are you talking about?" she demanded. Frustration built up at his ambiguity, and she wanted answers. He turned around, realizing that she wasn't moving forward.

"What I mean is, you're looking at him," he announced finally.

The notion was received with a blank stare.

"W…wha…?"

"It's been a while now… but I still thought you deserved to know," he said. "Long story short…I was turned into a kid again."

She looked at him with skeptical eyes and they narrowed into what Shinichi could swear was a glare. "That's…impossible on _so_ many counts," she spat; how could she be expected to believe that her very first crush didn't exist? That he was just a mere lie?

Shinichi laughed. "Crazy isn't it?" he replied. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me. But I thought you deserved the truth…"

Ayumi folded her arms. "Even if it were true—it's a little _after_ the fact _now_, wouldn't you say?" she asked. "Does it even matter?"

"Do you miss him?" he replied. He already knew the answer.

Silence.

"Well…of course I do…but…"

"Then sure it does. You wonder every day where is, don't you? What he's doing, if he'll ever come back…"

"Stop it!" Ayumi covered her ears. "You're…scaring me…"

He obeyed, not saying a word afterwards until she was listening again. She sighed, thinking about all their adventures (which were fresh in her mind as if they had happened yesterday), and it made sense; the intelligence, his apparent love for Ran…

"…It was you the whole time then wasn't it? The person I loved wasn't Conan…It was you, Shinichi…the whole time…"

Shinichi didn't confirm or deny it, though it was obvious that in that case, silence meant yes. She sighed, covering her face with her hands, and he suddenly became worried.

"H-hey, you're not crying are you? C'mon…"

"_No_, I'm not _crying_," she shot back defensively. She flared up at him. "I just feel like a big idiot now! Why in heaven's name did you decide to wait _six years_ before telling me?"

He scratched his head, regretting waiting so long now. She'd gotten much more confident in herself since he last saw her. "Well…to be honest, I wasn't sure if I should tell you," he explained. "There are just some things that some people are better off not knowing…and, you were a tad on the young side. I wasn't sure if you could handle it."

"And you think I can now? You think I've changed since that day?"

"Are you kidding? There's a _world_ of difference between ten and sixteen!"

She scoffed, folding her arms as she looked down to her shoes. "Hmpth. Well, I don't _feel _like I've changed," she told him.

He just chuckled, pulling out something from his pocket, and there was silence as he held out his tracking glasses and his voice-changing bowtie. "Here," he offered. "Something to remember him by…I don't need them anymore." He smiled. "I don't know if you believe me or not, but I've said what I want to say. You can decide for yourself—but for now, I have to go."

Ayumi looked at the glasses and bowtie, quite astonished, and—convinced?

Perhaps.

"Bye, tantei-kun," she called; and Shinichi blew her a kiss, the same way he did to all his fans, before walking off mysteriously into the distance.

Left only with her thoughts, Ayumi sighed, putting her newly acquired items in her purse, and she began her trip back to Mitsuhiko and Genta. She had to wonder—why hadn't he told them too? He clearly saw them there, yet he only called her over…

"Ayumi! Ayumi, the bell's rung already. The day's over. Ayumi!"

The shrill voice of a friend shattered her vision; and suddenly, she found herself sitting upright in a very hard chair, and she found random Forensics papers under her arms, which were sprawled out on her desk. Where _was_ she?

Feeling like she had just gotten socked in the stomach—_hard_—she glanced over to the nearest clock she could find…she looked around, and finally figured out that she was in class. Forensics. And the room was empty, save Genta and Mitsuhiko, and a very unhappy-looking teacher.

She quickly gathered her things, and without making eye contact with her, left the room with her friends. They began to head over to the park near the school, and she panted, having been very nervous at the teacher's death glares she had given her.

"Sorry guys…I…I had a really weird dream…" she explained.

"Ooh, weird dream! Do tell," Mitsuhiko prodded, Genta agreeing not too long afterwards. They excitedly stared at her, as if she was about to tell them a bedtime story.

"Well…I guess it wasn't anything too big," she said unsurely, thinking back upon the dream. "Shinichi-kun just sort of tapped me on the shoulder and then he asked me to go on a walk with him, 'cause he had something to tell me…and then…"

She paused. "And then what?" Genta demanded. Mitsuhiko continued to stare intently.

"He…told me he was Conan…"

"He…told you _wha_?" Mitsuhiko stammered. The two of them burst out laughing, each hitting her on the back as they did so. "Oh, man that's a good one…"

Ayumi forced a giggle. "Yeah… it didn't feel like other dreams though…"

"Like other dreams?" Genta repeated. He looked over to Mitsuhiko, and back to her. "Then how did it feel?"

She shrugged casually. "I dunno—just…different," she replied—and suddenly a flash of déjà vu came over her, as she felt a tap on her shoulder…

Not quite sure how to react, she twitched, nearly tripping, as she turned around to the face of a certain world-class, very familiar detective…

"Hey Ayumi…do you want to go for a walk or something? There's something I've got to tell you…"

* * *

_fin_


End file.
